Clockwise from top left are: Darlene Ford; Hannah Cho, OD; Kim Gromko; Will Tantum, OD, and Aislynn Hall; Sergul Erzurum, MD; and Samara Monte.

DALLAS—Essilor has announced the four ECPs and three Essilor employees chosen to participate in a mission trip to Southeast Asia this March. The trip is the capstone of Essilor’s #DifferenceMakers campaign, which they launched on World Sight Day 2018 to recognize ECPs and employees who live Essilor’s mission of improving lives by improving sight. Out of the 32 ECPs nominated, a panel of judges narrowed the winners down to: Sergul Erzurum, MD, of Youngstown, Ohio; Hannah Cho, OD, of Irvine, Calif.; and Will Tantum, OD, and Aislynn Hall of Blount County, Tenn.

These ECPs will join three Essilor employees, whose names were randomly drawn out of 32 gold level status employees. The three employees are Darlene Ford of Piney Flats, Tenn., management lead; Kim Gromko of Greensboro, N.C., program manager; and Samara Monte, of Northvale, N.J., human resources generalist.

Millicent Knight, OD, FAAO, FAARM, senior vice president customer development at Essilor said, “The response to the #DifferenceMakers campaign has been overwhelming and inspiring. Our industry peers nominated 32 deserving eyecare professionals who are making a difference in their communities and around the world. And our own employees have engaged in a big way, with more than 1,100 participating in the initiative. Those employees logged more than 1,400 volunteer hours and donated more than $22,000 to vision charities in two short months.”

A profile for each #DifferenceMaker can be found on Essilor’s Difference Makers page.